My feral chicken

Greetings. I'm new to this site. I had a hen show up in my backyard about 6 months ago. She's been eating my cat's food and foraging in the yard. Well, a rooster showed up in the neighborhood a few weeks ago (he is gone now) and now Winifred (yes I named her!) has 7 little chicks! I'm clueless about what I should doing for them! Help!

ChickenCindy said:

Greetings. I'm new to this site. I had a hen show up in my backyard about 6 months ago. She's been eating my cat's food and foraging in the yard. Well, a rooster showed up in the neighborhood a few weeks ago (he is gone now) and now Winifred (yes I named her!) has 7 little chicks! I'm clueless about what I should doing for them! Help!

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As long as no predators get them, the hen will care for the chick's needs-assuming you do not wish to catch and cage them. If you wish to, some chick starter, instead of cat food, would give them a much better start. What about the future? Do you want a flock of feral chickens in your back yard?

Welcome to BYC.

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC. X2 on nchls school. Because chances are good some of those chicks could be cockerels. Good luck with your endeavors.

How early can you tell if you have baby roosters? Because those definitely wouldn't be allowed in my residential neighborhood.

ChickenCindy said:

How early can you tell if you have baby roosters? Because those definitely wouldn't be allowed in my residential neighborhood.

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Hi and welcome to BYC. I'd suggest that around 6 weeks is a good time to post pics here on BYC under the "what breed or gender is this" forum and you will get the responses you need.

All the best
CT

Do your cats stalk them? The feral mother probably will try to protect them but, I doubt she could from cats.

nchls school said:

As long as no predators get them, the hen will care for the chick's needs-assuming you do not wish to catch and cage them. If you wish to, some chick starter, instead of cat food, would give them a much better start. What about the future? Do you want a flock of feral chickens in your back yard?

Welcome to BYC.

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x2

drumstick diva said:

Do your cats stalk them?  The feral mother probably will try to protect them but, I doubt she could from cats.

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My cats have never bothered the hen but I am afraid if the chicks wander too far my outdoor cat Bob might get them. I'm looking into getting a chicken coop but it looks like a pricey endeavor. I have 2 semi feral cats living in the backyard who were born there.

ChickenCindy said:

My cats have never bothered the hen but I am afraid if the chicks wander too far my outdoor cat Bob might get them. I'm looking into getting a chicken coop but it looks like a pricey endeavor. I have 2 semi feral cats living in the backyard who were born there.

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You can always make your own. There are beautiful coops built with old pallets. Just as long as you use hardware cloth, not chicken wire. It's too flimsy aginst predators.